


To Stay Unrelenting

by tsuwu (Beepun)



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27252064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beepun/pseuds/tsuwu
Summary: Akechi could admit most of that comfort came from watching as Akira made his way about the store, cleaning up after the few customers that stopped by and trying to perfect another cup of coffee. Akechi would watch as the fog caught on his fake glasses, the way Akira’s lips would twist with displeasure, and yet he’d never remove them to make things easier for himself. Akechi would lose himself in a crossword puzzle, a book, or his work until the time came for him to leave.That’s how it was before everything went wrong.And then it went wrong again.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 77





	To Stay Unrelenting

**Author's Note:**

> Quick fic for the meme squam!  
> mostly fluff, just two dudes sitting knee to knee bcuz theyre in love

Sitting in Leblanc with a fresh cup of coffee had once brought such comfort. 

Akechi could admit most of that comfort came from watching as Akira made his way about the store, cleaning up after the few customers that stopped by and trying to perfect another cup of coffee. Akechi would watch as the fog caught on his fake glasses, the way Akira’s lips would twist with displeasure, and yet he’d never remove them to make things easier for himself. Akechi would lose himself in a crossword puzzle, a book, or his work until the time came for him to leave. 

That’s how it was before everything went wrong.

And then it went wrong again.

Sitting at Leblanc with a fresh cup of coffee while Wakaba Isshiki and her daughter made their way out of the store with nothing but genuine smiles on their faces left a bitter taste in his mouth. He remembered killing her, remembered how she begged for her research, and then as a last-ditch effort for her daughter. Sometimes, Akechi wondered if she’d believed he’d find her research a more valuable reason to keep her alive. He wonders what that says about him. 

_...A ruthless sort of person? _

The thought sneaks up on him and makes the coffee in his mouth taste like ash. He bites his lip and it isn’t until Akira turns towards him that he notices his leg thumping noisily against the ground. He looks away, takes another sip of his coffee as a human Morgana stops to shoot Akira finger guns.

“I’m going for a walk, do you want me to get you anything?” He asks in a voice that sounds wrong, like nails on a chalkboard.    
“No,” Akira says easily, messing about with something behind the coffee bar. “Enjoy the walk.”

“Sure thing!” Morgana says, leaving Akira to man the shop along. Sojiro had gone out on some errand earlier, and now it was truly just the two of them. 

The silence that builds between them, each second stacking on top of another like distance in miles. It is uncomfortably comfortable, a tension that exists from something outside of themselves. 

He feels that he should say something, break through the fragile peace rather than let it shatter when their time limit forces them to act. They have things to discuss, and Akira has the weight of countless losses to redistribute back to his friends. 

That itself is the cruelest leverage Maruki had against them. Akira loved his friends, even someone like Akechi could see it. Could feel it in the weight of his actions and the helpless trust he had in each of them during battle. He wanted to think it was weak, he wanted to tell himself Akira needed them because he was nothing without them, but Akechi was growing tired of lying to himself. 

As he watched Akira move from behind the coffee bar, he couldn’t help but wonder what sort of reaction the other thieves might have towards their precious leader once he shattered their perfect world. When he reminded them of lost dreams and lost loved ones. To have it all back and then have it snatched away by an unforgiving reality. 

“It was good to see you like that.” Akira’s voice is close as he sits next to Akechi, his hands working through his hair before he sets his glasses down with a gentle clink. Akechi is vaguely aware that every other seat is free, and yet Akira sits in the chair next to him angling his body just enough so that his knee touches his.    
“Like what?” He says, trying not to sound as strangled by the casual touch as he is.

The look Akira shoots him, tired and fond, exasperated and open, sets his teeth on edge. Like he’s telling an inside joke he’s been sure to lock Akechi out of. 

“Ruthless,” He says, eyes bright and smile small, and despite -or perhaps because of- the shock, Akechi smiles back. The word catches up to him, bringing with it a searing senseless pain like fire licking at his skin. He scowls, looking away and taking another sip of his coffee. 

Yoshizawa’s distrusting face popped back into his mind, the fear in her eyes as she kept a distance from him. He wasn’t there to pretend anymore, he wasn’t there to make nice or make other people comfortable. Akechi was there to put the world back as it should be, where his justice would finally set him free from all ways he’d ruined himself. If he happened to get too lost in the midst of the battle with blood rushing between his ears, his heart hammering away as he took in all the information necessary for a strategy, well...It’s a good thing someone as dependable as Joker was around to keep him grounded. 

Still.

_ A ruthless sort of person? _

“Glad to be of service,” He says, looks down at his now empty cup of coffee. Beside him, Akira keeps watching. It’s not as though Akechi is ashamed of what he’s become. There’s a sense of liberty in no longer hiding behind a pleasant smile. Anyone who finds themselves unable to work with him because of it must surely have lived a kinder life, and he no longer has the sort of patience necessary to coddle them. “It won’t be a problem, will it?”

“No,” Akira doesn’t hesitate, sounds almost surprised. Akechi shoots him a look, eyebrows quirked in a question. “It’s...good. I like it, it’s you.”

He parrots Akechi’s words back at him, and Akechi feels warmth flood his face as he’s unable to hide his fluster. Akira, for his part, has the decency to look a little sheepish. 

“I suppose there’s nothing wrong with a little viciousness now and then, it seems you agree?” He tries, smiling as Akira leans closer. 

“We’ve earned it.” 

_ Ah _ , in a game of looking and looking away, Akechi finds himself frozen to his spot. Earned it, the anger and the rage. 

“No more hiding,” Akira supplements, and sometimes, when Akira speaks with such big emotions, it makes Akechi feel small. In a way that he hadn’t felt in a long time. A time that escaped him, safely tucked away with the memory of a mother that might once have loved him and hero toys promising justice. 

A warm hand slots itself in his. 

It’s not the first time they’d held hands. In mementos, their gloves served as a promising barrier, a hint of hesitance that made the action an  _ almost _ instead of a certainty. But now, Akira’s warm hand grounds him. His knee against his, his palm pressed to his, each point of contact brings out something raw and tender from his heart. 

_ A ruthless person _ .

That’s who Akechi has had to be. That’s all that’s left of him. Bloodied hands and burnt earth around him. 

“You need to get your friends back.” He tries, a pointed reminder that two of the Phantom Thieves had suffered because of his direct interference. 

“They’ll be there,” Akira assures him, giving his hand a small squeeze. He looks at him, not with expectation or malice. Akira always looks at him like he sees him, without averting his eyes to all the  _ ruthless _ cruel parts of him. 

Akechi swallows, brushing Akira’s knuckles with a swipe of his thumb. 

“Yes,” he says, turning to meet his steady gaze. “Yes, they all will be there, won’t they?” 

They won’t abandon Akira for showing them the truth. They won’t run away, they never have. As irritating and juvenile as the Phantom Thieves tend to be, their tenacity and dedication for their own justice has always been admirable. He can admit to it now. 

He won’t allow the thoughts of where he belongs when they return to enter his mind. He and Akira have a deal, and until everything is as it should be he won’t go running away. He’s  _ earned _ his spot next to Akira as much as he’s earned his anger, his rage, and his destruction. He won’t let anyone get in the way of that. Despite his bloodied hands, Akira still chooses to hold them. 

He feels his resolve strengthen as something in Akira goes soft, his eyes warm and it looks like he’s fighting off a smile. 

“I’m glad you’re my rival,” He says, warmth tainting every word. It’s enough to freeze Akechi again. This, he thinks, is what it must feel like to be blindsided by an enemy. To feel your feet secure under you just long enough to trust in safety before the ground crumbles to nothing. 

“I-” Akechi tries, and is cut off as Akira brings his hand to his lips, pressing a featherlight kiss to his knuckles. Akechi hears the click of teeth, and he’s only slightly embarrassed to realize it was his mouth cementing shut. The shock wanes just enough to glare when Akira shoots him a smug grin, and if he had full function of his mind, he might have smacked his shoulder. 

“Looks like you need more coffee,” Akira says, pressing another kiss to his hand before releasing it back to Akechi. “I trust you to do what you need to. And I trust you to be there, too.” 

It’s a challenge, it sounds like a dare.  _ Stay _ , he says,  _ stay _ . It’s the first time he’s ever been requested to do that. Akechi can hear the blood in his ears and feel his heart pounding away in his chest as he fights a smile. Putting his face in his hand as he leans against the countertop, he shoots the retreating Akira a smirk.

“You truly never fail to amaze me,” he says, and watches as Akira looks away. 

**Author's Note:**

> feral angry akechi took a bite out of my heart and wont let go, I think hes very neat!


End file.
